Turnip-Steamed Fish (蕪蒸し, Kaburamushi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Steamer or wide pot fitted with a rack
• •Fine grater, ideally an oroshigane, or the fine side of a box grater
• •Fine-mesh sieve
• •Heatproof lidded bowls (mushiwan), or small bowls covered with foil
• •Small saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 4 cups of the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the pot, before it boils. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for 2 to 3 minutes. Strain through a cloth and let it drip by itself.

   Boiled konbu turns the stock faintly bitter and slick. Squeezed bonito makes it oily. You are protecting clarity twice, which is why the finished sauce tastes clean.
2. 2

   Salt the fish

   Set the fish on a tray and sprinkle both sides lightly with the 1 teaspoon salt. Leave it for 15 minutes, then wipe away the moisture with kitchen paper and brush the fish with sake. The salt draws out surface water and any rough aroma, and the sake leaves the fish clean without covering its taste.

3. 3

   Grate the turnip

   Grate the peeled kabu on the fine side of a grater. Set it in a fine sieve for 10 minutes, then press lightly with the back of a spoon. Don't wring it dry. You want soft, damp snow, not a wet flood and not a dry cake.

4. 4

   Whip the white

   Beat the egg white until it is loose, foamy, and just able to hold soft folds, not stiff peaks. Fold it into the drained turnip with a small pinch of salt. The egg white gives the turnip enough body to sit over the fish, but too much beating makes it airy in the wrong way, more puff than tenderness.

5. 5

   Build the bowls

   Divide the fish among 4 heatproof lidded bowls or small donburi. Tuck a few shiitake slices and 2 ginkgo nuts beside each piece, if using. Mound the turnip mixture over the fish, keeping it high in the center rather than spread flat. A little height cooks evenly and gives the dish its quiet winter shape.

6. 6

   Steam softly

   Set the bowls in a steamer over gently simmering water and cover. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes, until the fish flakes at the thickest part and the turnip mound looks set and moist. Keep the heat gentle. Hard boiling shakes the bowls, tightens the fish, and breaks the turnip into watery curds.

7. 7

   Thicken sauce

   While the fish steams, put 1 1/2 cups dashi in a small saucepan with the usukuchi shōyu, mirin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring it just to a simmer. Stir the starch with 2 tablespoons cold water, then whisk it into the simmering dashi a little at a time until the sauce turns glossy and lightly coats a spoon. Boil it for 30 seconds so the starch loses its raw edge.

   The sauce should be ankake, a gentle glaze, not gravy. If it sits heavily on the turnip, thin it with a spoonful of dashi.
8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Lift the bowls from the steamer and spoon the hot ankake over each turnip mound. Set one sprig of mitsuba and one strip of yuzu peel on top. Serve at once, with the lid set beside the bowl. The yuzu should meet the nose before the spoon meets the fish.

Chef Tips

• •Choose kabu, not daikon, for honmono kaburamushi. Daikon is sharper and wetter, and the dish becomes something else. If you can't find Japanese turnips, use small young white turnips that feel heavy and sweet-smelling, never woody ones.
• •Ask the fishmonger what white fish came in today that they would steam simply. Sourcing first, always. The fish is under turnip, yes, but it is not hidden.
• •Kudzu starch gives the most delicate ankake, clear and supple. Potato starch is the sensible stand-in and works well. Cornstarch thickens more heavily and clouds the sauce faster.
• •If you don't own lidded mushiwan steaming cups, use small heatproof bowls and cover each with foil. The lid is not ceremony. It keeps dripping water from pitting the turnip surface.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Warm it gently before making the sauce.
• •The fish can be salted, wiped, brushed with sake, and refrigerated up to 2 hours before steaming.
• •Grate and drain the turnip close to cooking time. It darkens and loses its clean sweetness if it sits too long.
• •The ankake sauce is best made just before serving, but the measured seasonings and starch slurry can be prepared an hour ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 360g)